What time does CBeebies start and finish?

The short version

CBeebies runs a thirteen-hour day. Programmes start at 6:00am and the channel closes just before 7:00pm, every day of the week including weekends. There is no late-night CBeebies.

The final programme is always CBeebies Bedtime Stories, a short slot at 6:50pm running to 6:58pm. After that the channel shows a holding card until the following morning.

Why the schedule looks like it ends at 6:58

In a listings grid the last entry ends at 6:58pm rather than 7:00pm, followed by a short gap. That gap is the closedown card. Bedtime Stories finishes, a brief continuity card plays, and the channel stops until 6am.

So "does CBeebies finish at 6:58 or 7pm" has the same practical answer either way: the last programme you can actually watch ends just before 7.

Where to find CBeebies

Platform	Channel number
Freeview	25
Sky	608

CBeebies is free to watch on both. There is no subscription and no CBeebies +1.

Watching outside broadcast hours

Everything CBeebies broadcasts is available on BBC iPlayer, which has a dedicated children's section with no time restriction. If you are looking for a programme that aired earlier in the day, or want something at 8pm when the channel has closed, iPlayer is where it will be.

What about CBBC?

CBBC is the BBC's channel for older children and keeps slightly different hours: it starts an hour later, at 7:00am, and closes at the same time, 7:00pm. Its last programme on a typical day is Blue Peter Challenges at 6:55pm. CBBC is channel 24 on Freeview and 607 on Sky.

Both channels close at 7pm, so that is when BBC children's television ends for the day across the board.